Stress/Anxiety Levels of Night And Day Time College Students - Research Proposal Example

Stress/anxiety levels of Night And Day Time College George Walpole College Psy 312 20MAR 2014 Abstract Introduction: External environments induce stress on people and factors around students determine their level of stress. Existing information supports the notion that nighttime students have higher level of stress compared to daytime students. Strains that the students experience from their work and family environments explain this. Effects of other strains such as gender-based roles also support the notion that nighttime students could experience higher-level stress. These students may also enjoy some benefits over daytime students and some day time students have part time jobs, factors that contradict notion of higher stress level among night time students and informs this study. Methods: Quasi-experimental design will be used in the study with fellow students as participants. Stratified random sampling will be used with 50 from each of the two groups. DAAS questionnaire will be used for data collection. Results: Frequency will be used to identify distribution and analysis of variance used to test difference in the distribution of stress levels among participants. Discussion: Subjective nature of the data collection instrument is a limitation to the study. Stress/anxiety levels of Night And Day Time College students Introduction Stress is an unstable mental or emotional state that arises from strain in a person’s environment (Cotton, 2013). Academic set up is one of the most straining environments as students have to cope up with new knowledge, some of which may be complex, besides other schedules (Cotton, 2013). Environment may also differ among students and part time students and full time students are examples of sub populations that may exhibit differences in their learning environments. Part time students, or those who attend classes in the evening or at night, may have other issues such as employment engagement during the day and this may mean that they have limited time for studies, as compared to students who are free to attend classes during the day (Carvalho, Gadzella, Henley, & Ball, 2009). Other factors such as age and gender may also induce physical and psychological differences to determine levels of stress among students (Geslani &Gaebelein, 2013). This study seeks to investigate differences in level of stress between day time students and night time students with the aim of identifying possible strategies for stress management for the target population. The study tests the following hypothesis. Night time students have higher levels of stress compared to day time students because they often have full time jobs besides academics and they are often older than daytime students. Environmental factors have demonstrated effects on stress levels that individuals may suffer while in higher intuitions of learning. A study on female engineering students that sought to understand factors to the students stress levels identified significant factors to the students’ stress levels (Rizwan, Farooq, Alvi & Nawaz, 2012). The authors focused on students’ expectations in their studies as well as their family environments and reported noted significance of the school environment. Reluctance that teachers register to engaging female students in field trips as well as inadequate class test for the students was found to be significant factors to the students’ stress levels (Rizwan, Farooq, Alvi & Nawaz, 2012). This could be translating to emotional strain due to lowered self-esteem to induce a level of stress. Other attitudes that female students could encounter in their environments such as discrimination at the work place, for students who work, or at other social places could therefore also affect the students’ self-esteem to dictate their levels of stress (Rizwan, Farooq, Alvi & Nawaz, 2012). The same effects of the environment could also be possible among male students (Rizwan, Farooq, Alvi & Nawaz, 2012). A study of stress among Doctor of Pharmacy students supports the possibility of effectiveness of stressors between both genders of students. The study established that unlike in other populations that had been previously studied, the group of students reported a higher level of stress. Further, the students’ stress levels were higher than acceptable level for normal health. Mental health scores were also significant among the participants but inversely proportional to their stress levels. In addition, the students reported examinations as their major stressor (Geslani &Gaebelein, 2013) and this has significant implications on students’ susceptibility to stress and the level of stress from which a student is likely to suffer. Factors such as ability to prepare for examinations may therefore be important to susceptibility to stress and level of stress among students. Night time students who are engaged during the day, and may therefore have limited time for their studies, are therefore likely to suffer from high level of stress than day time students who may have more time to commit to studies (Geslani &Gaebelein, 2013). In addition, factors such as age that induces greater responsibilities such as parenting roles and may force an adult learner into night classes may also induce higher level stress in the learner due to inadequate preparations for examinations (Geslani &Gaebelein, 2013). Similar effects could also be significant in preparations for continuous tests to ensure sustainable stress, at different levels, among students (Geslani &Gaebelein, 2013). Another study, by Carvalho, Gadzella, Henley, & Ball (2009), further supports the notion of difference in stress level among college students and the role of environmental factors in the reported stress level. High scores in the students’ stress level reported a correlation with Powerful Others’ scale and Chances’ scale. In addition, the authors reported significant difference in level of stress over the Chance scale (2009). These observations not only report significance of stress among college students but identify factors to stress and levels of stress that may be different between full time students and night students whose daily lives may be exposed to other factors. Nighttime students’ who work during the day may, for example, be exposed to established professionals in their workplaces such as their bosses or other employees to contribute to effect of Powerful other factors on their stress level (Carvalho, Gadzella, Henley, & Ball, 2009). Day time students may have limited exposure to such people because their environment is limited to college peer and lecturers (Carvalho, Gadzella, Henley, & Ball, 2009). Exposure of night time students may have also induced a high level of uncertainty in their lives, a factor that could have motivated them to studies, and this could be significant to effect of chance scale elements on stress levels (Carvalho, Gadzella, Henley, & Ball, 2009). Another factor that could be significant to the relationship between stress levels mode of study, whether day time or night time study, is the sleep time that students have. Giese et al established that sleep interact with stress to affect cognitive potential and could therefore be a moderator factor in level of stress and effects of such levels of stress on an individuals. Day time students, for example, have more time than night time students within which they can complete their study needs and therefore have enough time for rest and sleep (Giese et al., 2013). Consequently, the moderator effect of sleep in their stress level would be lower and this suggests greater stress levels among nighttime students (Giese et al., 2013). Though in a different environment from academic set up, empirical data the role of secondary commitments to stress levels. Women, who have been associated with greater secondary roles than men have, due to gender roles in the society, report greater stress levels than men (Lindfors, Eintrei &Alexanderson, 2009). While this suggests significance of gender in stress levels among daytime and nighttime students, it has secondary implications. Secondary commitments that night time students have and that limit their ability to attend full time classes could contribute to a high stress level, for both female and male night time students, than for day time students (Lindfors, Eintrei &Alexanderson, 2009). Another independent study also revealed that college men and women have different copping strategies, a supportive observation (Brougham, Zail, Mendoza &Miller, 2009). Alfano & Eduljee (2013) also established that commitment levels have significant effects on performance that consequently affects, anticipation and stress level of the student. A focused analysis of stress among part time students further explains their stressors that may be largely different from stressors among full time students. A study that aimed at establishing stress levels among part time students such factors as pressure from workplaces and family issues as factors that affect the students (Abdullah & Dan, 2012). At work, for instance, the students are expected to meet output levels, work for specified number of hours, meet tight deadlines, and they may sometimes be forced to overwork themselves (Abdullah & Dan, 2012). Consequently, these students may already be stressed up even before they come to the school environments and factors within the school would add up to the strain that the nighttime students already have (Abdullah & Dan, 2012). Day time students may be free from these strains as they may not be engaged in formal employments (Abdullah & Dan, 2012). The night time students, especially because they are often older people with families, also have such strains as financial constrains for meeting family needs, lack of adequate time to spend with family, and strains from household chores, factors that may moderate their level of stress to exceed those of day time students (Abdullah & Dan, 2012). Some studies however balances effects of stressors among day time students and night time students to undermine possible notion that night time students have higher stress levels than day time students. Nicholl &Timmins (2005) identify advantages that the night time students enjoy over day time students because of their employment status and this could have negative effects on the level of stress that the limitations of being night time students induces. While the unemployed day time students may have limited finances to induce stress among them, night time students have significant finances to meet their needs. Most nighttime students are also able to balance their time between work and studies and this undermines significance of time constrain as a relevant stressor among nighttime students and not daytime students (Nicholl &Timmins, 2005). In addition, some full time students also work and are therefore susceptible to similarly stressors as the nighttime students, a factor that undermines existing data on stress level between daytime students and nighttime students. The day time students that engage in part time jobs also reports benefits of the jobs and not stress. This would suggest managed level of stress among night time students because like the working day time students, they incorporate academic and work schedules (Robotham, 2012). Rich data exist that suggest higher level of stress among night time students than day time students. This knowledge is however not comparative of the two groups. There also exist data that undermines this knowledge and therefore identifies the need for a comparative study on stress level between the two groups, and for ascertaining significance of mode of study on stress level. The proposed data collection instrument, D.A.S.S. scale, is valid and reliable and empirical data supports this. A study by Akin and Cetin (2007) on validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the instrument reported above 80 percent validity on normal and clinical populations. Reliability test on the instrument reported better results (Akin and Cetin, 2007). A test on the Portuguese version of the scale also reported high-level validity and reliability (Apostolo, Barry and Cynthia, 2012). An independent study of other versions of the scale, in Vietnam reported similar validity and reliability results for DASSs, higher than 70 percent (Tran, Tran and Fisher, 2013). Osman et al. (2012) have reported similar observations on DASS-21. These observations establish validity and reliability of the instrument for use in the current study. Method Design The study proposes a quasi-experimental design. This is a quantitative design that observes data from natural phenomena and is distinct from other quantitative designs, experimental design and non-experimental design, that requires either or both of randomization of research participants into control and treatment groups and application of treatment before data collection. The design is suitable for the scope of study that only requires existing data on research participants’ stress levels. It is also free from many moral and legal considerations that the other quantitative designs induce. Mode of study is the main independent variable in the study and will be measures at two levels, day time and night time programs. Gender will be secondary independent variables while stress level, as computed from the pre-determined scale, will be the dependent variable. Participants College students will be the research participants. This population of college students will be considered in two sub populations, day time students and night time students. Stratified random sampling will be used for recruiting and selecting research participants (Kothari, 2004). This involves identification of participants into homogeneous groups from which participants are selected and has such strengths as generation of a representative sample as well as simplicity of implementation. Both genders will receive equal consideration for participation and 25 students considered in each mode of study for a total of 100 students participating in this study. Materials Survey questionnaires on stress levels will be used for data collection. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) will be used to determine stress level for each participant. The questionnaire will be self administered. Procedure Ethical approval will be sought from the institution for implementation of the study. Students in daytime and nighttime classes will be surveyed. Their informed consent will then be sought and sampling done, by mode of study, for the recruits who will have consented to participate. Questionnaires will be given to participants to complete during class. Results Responses will be computed into overall stress levels and SPSS used to compute frequency of each stress level. Frequencies will further be computed and compared for distribution of stress levels by gender. In addition, analysis of variance will be used to investigate possible significant difference stress level by the considered categories that are mode of study (daytime students and nighttime students), and gender (male students and female students). Analysis of effects of gender will aim at confirming independent significance of mode of study on stress level. Discussion Possible bias from research participants is the major threat to the study because responses are subjective (Kothari, 2004). The selected data collection method may also not be sensitive to research participants’ emotions over the subject but the nature of the topic that is not personal promises emotional stability during response to the questionnaires. References Abdullah, N. and Dan, S. (2012). A study on stress level among part-time students in a higher institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Journal of Global Management 3(1), 93-105. Akin, A. and Cetin, B. (2007). The depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS): The study of validity and reliability. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice 7(1), 260-268. Alfano, H. and Eduljee, N. (2013). Difference in work, levels of involvement, and academic performance between residential and commuter students. Journal Summer 47(2), 334-342. Apostolo, L., Barry, A. and Cynthia, L. (2012). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Portuguese depression anxiety stress scales-21. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermgem 20(3), 590-596. Brougham, R., Zail, C., Mendoza, C. and Miller, J. (2009). Stress, sex difference, and coping strategies among college students. Current Psychology 28(2), 85-97. Carvalho, C., Gadzella, B., Henley, T. and Ball, S. Locus of control: Differences among college students’ stress levels. Individual Difference Research 7(3), 182-187. Cotton, D. (2013). Stress management: An integrated approach to therapy. New York, NY: Routledge. Geslani, G. and Gaebelein, C. (2013). Perceived stress, stressors, and mental distress among doctor of pharmacy students. Social Behavior and Personality 41(9), 1457-1468. Giese, M., Eckert A., Calabrese P., Unternaehrer E., Brand S., Holsboer-Trachsler E.(2013). The interplay of stress and sleep impacts BDNF level. Plos One 8(10), 1-6. Kothari, C. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Delhi: New Age International. Lindfors, S., Eintrei, C. and Alexanderson, K. (2009). Stress factors affecting academic physicians at a university hospital. Work 34(3), 305-313. Nicholl, H. and Timmins, F. (2005). Programme-related stressors among part-time undergraduate nursing students. Journal of Advanced Nursing 50(1), 93-100. Osman, A. et al. (2012). The depression anxiety stress scales-21 (DASS-21): Further examination of dimensions, scale reliability, and correlates. Journal of Clinical Psychology 68(12), 1322-1338. Rizwan, A., Farooq, S., Alvi, M. and Nawaz, S. (2012). Analysis of factors affecting the stress level of female engineering students. Global Journal of Human Social Science Arts & Humanities 12(10),n.p. Robotham, D. (2012). Student part-time employment: Characteristics and consequences. Education and Training 54(1), 65-75. Tran, T., Tran, T. and Fisher, J. (2013). Validation of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) 21 as a screening instrument for depression and anxiety in a rural community-based cohort of northern Vietnamese women. BMC Psychiatry 13(1), 1-7. Read More